Chasing Gnats
by Gin110881
Summary: Little Luna has been invited to sleep over on Little Ginny's 5th birthday. After an eventful birthday party, an adventurous night is waiting for the girls. Winner of Most Unexpected in the Siye Magical Creatures Challenge (2017-03).


_AN: My special thanks to GHL for proofreading and the important hint that at a challenge story must have at least 1,000 words. So if you find any remaining errors, it must be one of the 150 words I added to meet the minimum._

* * *

The moon peered through the curtains of the open window. The heat of the day still lay heavy in the room. A candle on the nightstand brightened the room a little. The flickering painted moving shadows on the walls.

In the dim light of the room two coloured specks were moving in the bed, one white and one fire-red, the heads of the two girls lying in bed after an eventful day, chatting and giggling about the fun they had had during the day.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz

SWAT!

„Oi, Ginny, what's the matter!"

"There's a gnat somewhere in the room, don't you hear the humming? It just tried to bite me in the ear."

"Must be a Nargle," giggled little Luna, "You've been reading too much in the Harry Potter book Bill gave you for your birthday. The way your eyes were shining attracts Nargles."

"Oi, Luni, you're talking nonsense again." Ginny rolled her eyes.

Zzzzzzzzz

SWAT!

"Oh, the damned gnat tried to bite me again." Ginny snapped annoyed.

"I can't see a gnat"

"Don't you hear the humming?"

"No."

"It is too dark. Too bad that we don't have a wand to turn the light on. The candle isn't bright enough."

"Maybe we could call fairies and ask them to brighten the room?" Luna suggested.

"Fairies don't listen to witches, Luni." Ginny rolled her eyes at Luna's foolish suggestion.

"Nonsense," Luna replied matter-of-factly.

Luna headed to the window and began to chant a lovely song Ginny never heard before. It wasn't long before bright specks approached the window. With wide eyes, Ginny watched as three fairies with small lanterns squeezed through the curtains, floated through the air, and stopped in the middle of her room giving the girls friendly smiles. The lanterns of the fairies provided enough light to illuminate the room.

"OK, now let's look for those Nargles," Luna called out with an adventurous gleam in her eyes.

"Be quiet, we have to listen to the humming," her friend replied severely.

The girls put their index finger over their mouths, "pssst," and looked about the room with wide eyes trying to catch a view of the gnat.

Silence.

The fairies smiled kindly at the girls, or did they laugh at them? Who knows…

Ginny was not amused by the idea that the fairies made fun of them. She crawled out of the bed, "Come on Luni, get up, we're going to look for the gnat."

With open mouths, the two girls slowly tiptoed through the room and tried to sense a movement or a noise.

Nothing. Absolute silence.

Suddenly…

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"It's over there, look, on the wall above the dresser," Ginny yelled excited. She scurried over to the dresser, pointing with her outstretched forefinger to a spot on the ceiling, "There it is."

Luna darted to Ginny's desk, grabbed the chair and pushed it to the dresser. "We'll catch it." She first climbed onto the chair, from there onto the dresser, to find...that she was too small to reach the ceiling. She bent down, took off a sock and threw it up to the ceiling to chase the gnat away.

Zzzzzzzz

"Luni, look, above my wardrobe." Ginny pointed.

Luna jumped off the dresser, swayed briefly, grabbed for Ginny and pulled both of them to the ground.

The girls sat on the floor and looked at each other, laughing.

"Come on, we'll push the dresser to the wardrobe and catch the gnat," Ginny giggled, getting up to pull up Luna. Together, the two girls pushed the dresser through the room.

"You first," Luna chuckled, trying to lift Ginny up to the dresser.

"Nonsense, Luni. Get the chair."

Luna pushed the chair to the dresser, "Go, Ginny, get that gnat."

Still giggling, Ginny climbed on the dresser. Luna handed her the chair, so she could more easily climb on the wardrobe. Ginny reached to the top of the wardrobe, slowly pulled herself up, moved a leg over the edge, and slowly wiggled herself up over the periphery.

"Ah, here he is," Ginny called enthusiastically. She reached for the Harry Potter doll lying on the wardrobe and proudly showed it Luna. "Must have been Fred and George. Those two always try to annoy me."

Luna rolled her eyes, "Throw him down, I'll catch him."

Ginny threw the doll to her friend, who caught him and put him to bed.

Meanwhile, Ginny was looking about to find out where the gnat was hiding.

Zzzzzzzzz.

"Here it is," shouted Ginny, throwing herself forward quickly to try to grab the gnat. The vigorous movement caused her to lose her balance, she slipped over the edge of the wardrobe, flew in freefall down to her bed, while reaching for the gnat with her right outstretched hand.

BANG.

In the middle of her smashed bed, Ginny sat, triumphantly thrusting her right hand in the air, and yelling, "I caught it, I caught it!"

Luna quickly ran over to the remains of Ginny's bed, "Wow Ginny. That was a perfect flight and a brilliant catch. Did you secretly practice on a broomstick?"

"Oi, Luni, I like that idea," giggled Ginny, "I'm going to try that out."

"Come on," Luna interrupted her impatiently, pointing at Ginny's hand, "Show me!"

"Just wait!" Ginny slowly opened her hand, staring astonished at the little creature in it. "Oh, that's not a gnat, is it?"

"I told you. It's a Nargle," Luna grinned at her knowingly. "They slip through your ears into your head, letting your eyes shine brightly when you read the Harry Potter book, and they make you dream of him when you're sleeping holding the Harry Potter doll in your arms."

"Oi, Luni, you're mean," Ginny complained, but couldn't hide a slight blush.

BANG

The door to Ginny's room flew open. Startled, the fairies fled through the open window, the room was suddenly dark again.

"Lumos!" shouted Mrs Weasley, standing in the middle of the room, her wand raised. "What's that noise?"

Zzzzzzzzz

"Oh, nothing Mum, it's just a Nargle."

"A what?" muttered Ginny's mother.

"A Nargle." Both girls giggled and couldn't stop laughing.


End file.
